Smartphone data consumption tops tablets for the first time ever

A study released Monday by Arieso found that for the first time ever, smartphones consistently used more data than tablets in Europe. The “hungriest” mobile devices in 2011 were the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and original iPad. In 2012, however, the hungriest devices were all smartphones — iPhone 5, Galaxy S III and Sensation XL. It was discovered that iPhone 5 users consumed four times as much data as iPhone 3G users and 50% more than iPhone 4S users, while Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 users demanded 20% more data than iPad users. The firm, which specializes in mobile network optimization, notes that the study’s results can be applied to carriers around the world and not just Europe because “relative consumption between device users remains constant between geographies.”